Apple Files Second Suit Against Smartphone Competitor HTC

Amid the frenzied launch of its iPhone 4, Apple found time to file a second lawsuit against HTC, maker of popular smartphones that often run Google's Android mobile operating system. The suit alleges two new instances of patent infringement on HTC's part.

In a June 21 document, filed in a Federal District Court in Delaware, Apple alleged that HTC
infringes on two additional patents not mentioned in its first suit, filed in
early March, which accused
HTC of violating 20 patents related to the iPhone's interface, architecture
and hardware. The two patents mentioned in the second suit relate to the same
type of technology, which Apple described as a "system for real-time
adaptation to changes in display configuration."

HTC first responded to Apple's original allegations on March 17, saying it would
defend itself and offering a timeline of its milestones in the industry-which
includes shipping its first touch-screen smartphone in 2002, "with more
than 50
additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then." Apple first entered
the smartphone market with the introduction of its original iPhone in 2007.

"We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual
property, our industry partners and most importantly our customers that use HTC
phones," Jason Mackenzie, HTC's vice president for North America, said in a May 12 statement.

Given the growing prominence and popularity of handsets running Google's
Android operating system, as many HTC handsets do, some suspect Apple of sour
grapes. In the short term, however, Apple appears to have little to worry
about. In a June 23 research note, analyst Brian Marshall with Gleacher &
Co. (formerly Broadpoint AmTech), conservatively estimated that sales of the
Apple iPhone would reach 40 million units in calendar year 2010, and move to 50
million in 2011.

"We reiterate our view that [Apple] is the best technology company on the
planet and is the 'anchor tenant' of our Secular Growth Pedestal," Marshall wrote.

Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.